BKWillis <willis@hiwaay.net> wrote: : Still, I wish we could've seen a bit of Zoe's group, simply to savor her : frustration at her cohorts; I'm sure she's used to being the smartest : person in the room, but seldom by that big a margin. I'm not sure it's so much a matter of IQ (though Harry wouldn't have a good effect on the group average). More to do with the four of them very definitely *not* gelling as a team. Having said that, have an interlude: "Now, girls," Harry said. "Let's see if we've got anywhere, shall we?" "Please do not call me a girl," Leela said. "Sorry, old thing." "Or 'old thing'. My name is Leela." "Well, then, um, Leela," Harry blushed slightly. "Have you got a theory of the crime?" "That it was the act of a traitor. Nobody with the least honour would strike from behind, under cover of darkness. Mark my words." "Oh. Well, how about you, Miss Pallister?" "I'm positive it's the Colonel," Vicki said. "Why?" She shrugged. "Instinct. I just *know*. I'm never wrong about these things." "You are," Leela told her bluntly. "The Colonel is a man of honour. He would fight his enemy by the light of day, not skulking in the shadows." "And what would you know? You're not even English!" "Ladies, ladies." Harry glanced over to where Zoe was fidgeting, a bulging notebook on the table in front of her. "Miss Heriot, do you have any suggestions?" "I've drawn out all the possible permutations," Zoe said brightly. "Now I think we should try to assign some probabilities, based on the other evidence we've collated." "Sorry, that went straight past me." "And me," Vicki added. Zoe shot her a frustrated look. Vicki might have attended a prestigious finishing school, but that didn't seem to translate into anything that she, Zoe, would consider actual academic achievement. "It's a simple logic diagram," she said. "All we need to do is look at each combination in turn and see if we can rule it out of consideration." "Combinations?" Harry laughed. "I don't see how underwear fits into this." With difficulty, Zoe refrained from bashing her head against the table. [ I think Vicki coming from further in the future than Zoe would translate to her having attended a more distinguished but less academically brilliant school. Which fits in fairly well with her character being a debutante. ]